Just When We Thought it was Over
by animewatchers186
Summary: A year after they have gone their separate ways, all of the signers experience bad rashes and pains where their marks used to be. Coming home for the summer, they discover that the Crimson Dragon may have been wrong about no more danger ahead. Now, the signers are facing a new foe, seeking revenge for an old foe, Z-one. A story request by signerleo.
1. Chapter 1- Darkness Returns

**Just When We Thought it was Over**

**Cat: Well, a few days ago, signerleo sent me a story request, so here it is!**

**Rena: The story line belongs to him and so do all of the OC's (apart from Robin, who belongs to me and my sister)**

**Cat: We hope you enjoy and review if you can!**

* * *

**One Year Ago**

"Master! Please hang on!" a breathless voice shouted in the darkness. The heart monitor was getting slower and slower, the numbers sliding down the scale.

He pulled out several scraps of metal and tried desperately to fit them into the charred, burnt mechanism that kept the old man alive. However, it was useless, and deep down, he knew it.

"Leave it…" the dying man's voice croaked. "Save yourself… The trouble…"

"No, sir!" the person shouted back, pulling out more wires from boxes beneath him. "Please! I… Can't live without your guidance!"

"Don't… Be a fool…" the patient croaked. "I will die anyway… Even if I manage to… Be returned to my younger body…"

"Take… These…" he wheezed, grabbing the man's arm and handing him a wad of papers and blueprints. "They… might come in handy…"

The desperate man nodded, placing them down on the table, beside him.

The man gritted his teeth, furious that it had come to be this way. His heart thudded in his chest. Underneath, the floor rumbled, upsetting many things on the desk behind him.

"The Arc Cradle!" he gasped. "It's collapsing!"

Z-one lifted his head feebly. "Of course it is! I… I kept my bargain… With… _Them_…"

The faithful servant grabbed his hand. "Master… Please, tell me… Who are they?"

Z-one's eyes began closing; his grip was beginning to slack. However, the disciple gripped it tighter, causing his master's eyes to flicker open, slightly. He was desperately aware of the heart monitor's beeping getting longer and longer, the numbers diminishing to single digits.

"Team 5ds…" Z-one whispered, as he slipped into the realm of eternal sleep, leaving his faithful pupil standing there, helpless, listening to the shrill scream of the monitor.

A single tear rolled down his cheek, a strangled sob erupted from his mouth. He could feel his heart twisting and turning in hatred, rage and despair.

"Team… 5…ds…" he hissed in rage. "You will _pay_!"

* * *

**Present Day- Japan, New Domino City**

Yusei yawned sleepily as he opened the door to the garage. Dumping his briefcase on the sofa, he dashed to the bathroom, pulling out the first aid kit from under the sink. He pulled out the plasters and the bandages, looking desperately for one thing. However, it didn't seem to be there.

"Well, that's useless…" he muttered. "I'll talk to Aki…"

He hastily placed the removed contents back again and shoved the bag back under the sink. He marched up the stairs and switched on his old and battered laptop. He tapped his foot impatiently as the start up commenced, scratching his arm through his coat.

After what seemed like a decade, his desktop page appeared, revealing a photo from a year ago. The photo capturing one of the best moments of his life. The awards ceremony of the World Racing Grand Prix, or the WRGP for short.

He stopped for a second, taking a second to savour it, once again. He could remember it like it was only a few hours ago. The whole stadium erupting when he picked up the trophy, everybody laughing and having the best time with the champagne bottles.

Yusei chuckled as he remembered how he thought Leo, Jack and Crow would be the terrorists with the exploding alcohol; and they were, desperately trying to soak each other. He had counted himself lucky as he had come down from the podium because he had managed to avoid every stream of bubbling liquid. Or so he had thought.

He hadn't planned on a certain burgundy-haired-girl to grab a bottle and make it explode under his jacket.

"Hey, Dr. Fudo the Second, how's life?" a familiar voice shouted from a window on the computer.

"It's all right, Dr. Izinski. I'm just thinking." He replied, leaning back in his chair.

Akiza's eyebrows shot up. "About what?"

"When we won the WRGP and how you attacked me with an exploding champagne bottle." He laughed.

"Oh, yeah. That was one of the highlights of my life. You squawked like a retarded parrot!" she cackled with glee, clapping her hands together. "But, I'm guessing that's not why you called, am I correct?"

"Yes, you are, doctor," Yusei said, rolling the sleeve of his right arm up. Akiza exhaled through her teeth and leaned forward in her chair, to try and see it better.

"This has been bothering me for several days, doctor, and I was wondering what I should do about it." Yusei wailed, dangling his arm in front of the camera.

From the elbow down to his wrist, the tanned skin was red and flaking. Akiza stared at it, her brow furrowed in concentration. It was hard to diagnose what it was from the blurriness of the camera and the internet reception from Germany to Japan. The image kept on breaking up and cutting.

"How long has it been like this?" she asked. "When did it start bothering you?"

Yusei shrugged. "Not sure, a few days ago, I think. What's your verdict, doctor?"

"I would say eczema, but…" she trailed off, tapping her chin with her finger.

"But?" Yusei asked. "Please don't say I have some kind of tropical disease and I'll have to pay for treatment!"

Akiza rolled her eyes, amused at Yusei's drama.

"No. It's just… Look!" she sighed, pulling the glove off her right arm, revealing the same scaly, red surface on her soft, ivory skin. Yusei peered at it and stared at his own.

"Ok. That's not normal…" Yusei muttered, scratching his arm.

"But, Yusei, this could be really bad news!" Akiza hissed, desperately. "If you concentrate, can you see-?"

"The outline of my birthmark? Yeah, right here." Yusei pushed his arm right up to the camera, pointing at a small, feint white line that connected with several others, to create the birthmark of the dragon's head.

Akiza nodded, pointing at her rash. The outline of the claw mark was even more visible than the head. To an ordinary person, who didn't know her had that birthmark; it would seem like more flakes on her irritated arm. However, if you knew Akiza well and you knew about her old birthmark, you could see it, almost as clear as daylight.

"Do you think it's a sign?" Akiza whispered, dipping her fingers in a pot of cream beside her and trailing the contents on her arm.

"That or we both coincidently got the same rash that shows our marks…" Yusei sighed, running his nails up his arm.

Akiza narrowed her eyes. "Look, if you scratch it, you'll only make it worse!"

Yusei muttered an apology. "But, Aki, do you think the Crimson Dragon is trying to warn us about something?"

Aki rolled her eyes. "Well, no, Captain Obvious, the Crimson Dragon gave them back for nostalgic reasons! Of course it's trying to warn us! Danger is coming, one that even she couldn't-"

"Who said it was a 'she'?" Yusei grinned.

"I did, because women are superior in every way." Aki said, folding her arms, daring him to argue. "Anyway, continuing with my sentence; this threat coming is one that even the Crimson Dragon couldn't comprehend!"

Yusei nodded slowly, trying to wrap his mind around her words. "Or… We're just totally overreacting. If the others don't have it, then it's safe to say that it's just coincidence!"

Aki leaned back in her chair, her eyes closed. Yusei could almost see the cogs of her mind spinning, figuratively speaking.

"Yeah, you're right. Going by the fact that nobody else has called in with rashes, we can safely say we love drama." She said, slowly. "Anyway, I have a lecture in five minutes, so I got to go…"

"What's it about?" he asked, curious.

Aki flipped her notebook open and flipped to her timetable.

"Hmmm… Male Anatomy." She said, shrugging.

Yusei tried desperately not to laugh. "I have no idea how you do what you do, Aki! That class must be so _awkward_ for you!"

She stuck her tongue out and waggled it at him. "I know more about your body than you do, Yusei. Now, shut up and go to bed! You look like a zombie!"

Yusei nodded, waving goodbye and hanging up. Yawning, he slumped in his chair and sighed.

* * *

**One year before**

The Arc Cradle shook dangerously under his feet, sending him sprawling on the cold, cracked concrete that was the floor. He jumped up and continued sprinting down the corridor.

"Please be here…" he prayed. "_Please_ be here!"

He threw open a heavy, black door to reveal three duel runners, standing side by side.

_I wonder how he got these back…_ he thought as he gazed at them. The first one was huge, taking up most of the space in the room. About a week before, it had plunged into the sea and exploded.

The second one had an enormous wheel at the back. Now, how Z-one got that one back was a complete mystery because the runner, along with its owner, got sucked into a black hole.

_Maybe it had something to do with these papers_… he mused, looking at the documents that had been shoved into the back pocket of his jeans.

He slung his legs up onto the third runner, perching on it; his feet inches from the floor. Like the first one, it was big but not as big. He desperately punched commands into the screen and it roared to life, driving off before he could get a grasp of the controls.

They shot through the crumbling wall and down the corridor that he had just ran through at a hundred miles an hour. It got faster and faster until everything was a blur and then the last thing he noticed was a violent flash of white light.

And then, the runner and the rider vanished as the last of the Arc Cradle crumbled to dust.

* * *

**Present day- England, London**

The rain poured down the floor-to-ceiling windows. The dark clouds swirled in the heavens above making the gloomy British atmosphere seem even gloomier.

Luna sighed as she held her pencil to her chin, staring down at her homework assignments. Half of the paper was covered in her neat, blue handwriting but the other half was completely blank, apart form a little black blob in the margin from her brother's pen.

"Hey, writer's block?" a blonde girl asked, dumping her bag down beside her.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." The blue-haired-girl sighed. "Where's your boyfriend, Ashley?"

"Leo? I thought he was with you…" her brother's girlfriend replied, worried. Luna lay back in her chair, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips.

"Well, wherever he is, he better be doing his homework, or I will _kill_ him!" Luna hissed.

At that second, the door to the library opened, to reveal a soaking wet teenager. His long blue hair was dripping and his clothes stuck to his body. He grinned sheepishly at his sister and girlfriend, who were glaring at him.

He perched himself on a chair, opposite his sister and scratched his head. "Sorry! I saw a booster pack of Duel Monster cards and I just had to buy them!"

Luna scowled. "Idiot. Those are English cards. They won't function on your disk and besides, those aren't even real!"

Leo groaned, pulling a card out and staring at the bottom-right-hand corner, only to discover that the shiny golden square wasn't there.

"What?" he squawked. "I paid six pounds for fake cards! You have got to be _joking_!"

"_You_ must be joking!" Ashley cried. "You paid six pounds for one packet!? Idiot!"

Leo pouted, shoving the cards into his pocket. "Well, I have four pounds change, so I'm going to use a computer!"

He strolled over to the pay-as-you-go computers and slotted two pounds in, for half an hour use. He immediately opened the Skype and scrolled down his contact list.

"Luna! Luna! Yusei's online!" Leo cried, waving at his sister. Luna dumped the book she was reading and ran behind her brother, who was calling him. Ashley sidled up beside them, curious.

About a minute later, a picture of Yusei appeared. He yawned sleepily but grinned, genuinely happy to see them.

"Well, well, well, look who it is! Hey, guys!" he smiled.

"Hey Yusei!" the twins cheered.

"How're you?" Leo asked.

"We've missed you so much!" Luna wailed.

"One at a time guys," he muttered. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired, that's all. How are you guys doing?"

"Fine. But it's cold here!" Leo complained.

"And wet," Luna added.

"And _boring!_" Leo whined. Yusei laughed at the two teenagers, who obviously hadn't changed much since he had last seen them.

"How's school?" Yusei asked.

"Boring!" Leo shouted, before his sister could say anything.

"That reminds me; when're your holidays, guys?" Yusei asked, pulling out an old and battered planner.

"Hmmm… The last week of June 'till the end of August." Luna stated. Yusei's eyes widened slightly at her words.

"What? That's _ages_!" Yusei exclaimed, scribbling it down in his book. "Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent! Trust me, Yusei, in school; all we do is think about the holidays!" Leo yelled, happily.

"Oh, really?" Yusei asked, surprised. Leo nodded, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Well, if you guys ever want to come by and visit, you can always crash here." Yusei said kindly, snapping his book shut. "I was talking with Aki before you guys called and she's going to talk with her school and see when she can get some time off."

"What about Jack and Crow?" Luna asked.

Yusei shrugged. "There's no tournaments in July and August, there classified as 'training months', so those guys are free."

"What about the 'training' part?" Luna pointed out.

"_Seriously_? _Those guys_? Think about it, they won't be training, that I know as a fact."

"But you guys used to train all the time!" Leo pointed out, remembering the year before they left.

"No, that technically wasn't training. We had to test the engine under certain conditions, to make sure it wouldn't explode…"

"And now they have professional mechanics, who know what they're doing!" Leo grinned.

Yusei scowled. "Bruno and I knew what we were doing."

Leo noticed the flaw in his logic. "Oops… Sorry, Yusei"

Yusei chuckled. "Well, guys, I better get going, I need some sleep- hey, who's that?" he asked, pointing at the red material behind Leo's head, which was Ashley's shorts.

"Oh, ummm, hi. I'm Ashley." She waved awkwardly. "I'm one of Luna's friends."

"And Leo's girlfriend." Luna added, smiling.

Yusei's eyebrow's shot up. "Seriously?"

Leo scratched his head embarrassed. "Y-Yeah…"

They were all surprised when Yusei leant back in his chair and groaned. "That's fine, but do me a favour, don't tell Jack or Crow!"

"Oh… Sorry… We did a video chat with them a few weeks ago and they met Ashley then, 'cause she was having a sleepover with Luna." Leo said sheepishly.

"But, why?" Luna asked, her golden eyes full of concern.

Yusei pulled himself up, grinning at the camera. "Because those guys really want me to get a girlfriend… And they won't stop nagging!"

"That's kinda rich, coming from them!" Leo muttered.

"Jack and Carly have been in a relationship for almost six months and Crow has been with Robin for almost two years now!" Luna pointed out.

Yusei chuckled. "Thanks for making my situation worse, Luna."

"Sorry." Luna stared at the camera. "But it's true."

"What do I do?" Yusei yawned. "The fact that Leo has a girlfriend seriously does not go in my favour."

"Date Akiza!" Leo burst out, before he could stop himself. Yusei and Luna stared at him.

"Leo!" his twin sister hissed, kicking him.

"Leo, that…" Yusei sighed, scratching his arm. "Look; that would never work!"

"Says who?" Leo challenged. "That's what everybody said about me and Ashley but it worked out fine!"

Yusei bit down a gulp of laughter. "Oh, the logic of teenagers. I know, Leo but you guys are high school students and you see each other everyday. You don't have a job to worry about and bills to pay. And besides, I like Aki as a friend, nothing more…"

"_Liar_!" Leo yelled, pointing his finger accusingly at the camera.

Luna gasped and shoved her brother out of his seat and onto the hard floor. She took his space and smiled awkwardly.

"Please, excuse Leo, Yusei, he is being a retard!" she glared at her brother angrily. "Our time is almost up on the computer, so we'll have to go."

"Ask your parents about plane tickets and message me if you can." Yusei smiled, sleepily. "I really want to see you guys again. Ashley can come too, if she wishes."

"Yes, please!" Ashley cheered, punching the air.

"Have a good sleep, Yusei." Luna waved goodbye. "We'll keep in touch."

"Bye guys, see ya." Yusei waved, as he logged off. The second Luna was sure he was gone, she pounced on her brother.

"You _utter_ idiot!" she hissed, pulling his ear. "Do you have any idea how rude you were?"

"Ow, Luna! Ow!" Leo wailed, trying to loosen his sister's vice grip.

"I was dying of embarrassment! And now he'll probably be really awkward around Aki, now! Oh, you douche bag!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry!" Leo sighed, as his sister let go. "Looking back, that was pretty stupid…"

"Yes. It was." Ashley sighed at her boyfriend, packing her schoolbag. "Come on guys, we have Duel Theory now!"

"Aw, crap! We're late!" Luna cried, grabbing her bag and running down out the door, dragging her best friend and her brother behind her.

* * *

**Two days later- Germany, Munich**

"Dr. Izinski, could you pass me the anaesthetic?" the head doctor asked, holding is hand out.

"Yes, sir." She muttered, picking it up with her left hand and handing it to him.

"Excuse me, Dr. Izinski, if I could just get past you…" another doctor asked, sliding past, brushing against her right arm. She stiffened in pain and griped it tightly with her left hand.

"Dr. Izinski? Is there something wrong?" the nurse asked, noticing her grimacing.

"No. Nothing is wrong, nurse." Akiza stated simply, pulling on some plastic gloves and making them snap against her wrists. She bit a cry as it hit the inflated, swollen skin of her arm.

A few days had passed since Yusei's call and her arm had gotten even worse. The morning after their conversation, Aki woke up with her arm aching and it had developed to agony, swelling up several times than it should.

She bit her teeth down on her bottom lip as a wave of pain washed over her. She was lightheaded and her legs were like jelly. She grabbed the side of the operating table, trying to blink away the stars that were appearing in her vision.

"Doctor?" the nurse asked, almost in hysterics. "Miss. Izinski, are you alright?"

"I… I'm gonna faint…" Akiza whispered hoarsely, as she fell into the darkness of her mind.

* * *

"Well, Dr. Izinski, I would blame your collapse due to being sleep deprived and over worked." The head doctor sighed.

"I am so sorry, that must have been a big inconvenience for you," Akiza sighed. "How did the surgery go?"

"We had Dr. Igarashi replace you today. And it wasn't too difficult. Thank goodness, it wasn't the open heart surgery that we rescheduled! We would have been in a right pickle if you had passed out then!" he chuckled.

"But, seriously, you should take a holiday and go home, for a while. Rest for a bit and you can come back, refreshed and reenergised!" the doctor said.

"Yes, sir. If I may, can I have the whole month of July off, sir?" she asked.

"You can have August too, if you'd like!" he smiled.

"Well, I'm back to school then, so I'll just take July. Thank you very much, sir." She smiled.

After the head doctor had left, Aki ran home, picked up her phone and called Yusei, who was hopefully having dinner. While she waited for him to pick up, she sat on her bed, opened her laptop and looked at the cheapest flight to NewDominoAirport.

"Hey, Akiza, what's up?" a voice asked.

"Yusei, I'm coming home." She cried, scrolling down on the website.

"Oh, cool. When? Next week?"

She hit the 'book now!' button and jumped off her bed, grabbing clothes and shoving them randomly into her suitcase.

"No. Tomorrow morning." She stated, hanging up.

* * *

**Cat: Enjoying so far?**

**Rena: Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2- Japanese Time & Back-in-Time

**Cat: Hey guys! This is Chapter 2 for all the retards who didn't realise!**

**Rena: Cat doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5ds, or Gx, for that matter.**

**Cat: I don't own the storyline either. Story belongs to signerleo. I'm just the slave who writes it. Who knows when he'll let me out of this room- Kidding! (duh!)**

**Rena- BTW, If Akiza's name magically turns to Aki, it's because that's what Cat's used to writing... So sorry if that appears anytime in this story!**

* * *

**One year ago**

The runner skidded on the ground and its rider flew off, sprawling on the tarmac. He blinked several times and let out a long, low sigh.

Slowly, he pulled himself up and stared around. There was nobody around. The buildings were deserted and it looked like it had been like that for a while.

He stared up at the sky and watched the last brick of the Arc Cradle disappear, like it had evaporated. He wasn't in there anymore. He had escaped. Alive.

Now that he wasn't against the clock, he stared at the runner he had taken and thought.

Paradox's runner was never built for speed; it was built for long-distance travel. Time travel, mainly. With this machine, he could travel to any time period he pleased, getting help from some of the best duellists throughout time.

And he needed them, if he was going to beat Team 5ds, the winners of the WRGP. The leader was a particular problem. Not only had he beaten Aporia, he had beaten Z-one as well. He was going to need the best duellists that ever lived.

But who was he going to use?

His first thought was Yugi Moto, the King of Games. Nope, bad idea. Yugi, along with Jaden Yuki and Yusei Fudo ("Oh, yeah, that's his name…" he muttered) had defeated Paradox. So, being one of Yusei's friends, Yugi probably wouldn't help him.

Seto Kaiba? Nope. Another bad idea.

Jaden Yuki? Nope, for the same reason as Yugi. It was a shame, because he had now lost two of the best duellists, thanks to Paradox's idiocy.

Jesse Anderson? Zane Truesdale? Syrus Truesdale? Alexis Rhodes? Atticus Rhodes?

Nope. No. Nada. Zilch. Not likely. Zero percent. No.

Well then, how about some 'bad guys'? he thought.

* * *

**Present Day- New Domino Airport, New Domino City**

"Welcome to New Domino City Airport," the annoying lady on the intercom chirped. "The time is three am. Thank you for flying with Japanese Airlines!"

Akiza groaned as she stretched in her cramped seat. She gazed out of the window, to see the dark night, the stars invisible due to fog from the Satellite.

She glared impatiently at the people standing in the aisle, trying to get their luggage down, and were taking an age. They muttered apologies and tried to walk down the little corridor, only to be blocked by people committing the same crime. Eventually, Akiza was the only one left on the plane, apart from the hostesses.

She grabbed her bag from up top and came down the metal stairs, onto the run way. She sighed as she saw how far the airport was to where they had landed. It was quite a hike.

After ten minutes of trekking to the doors and some colourful cursing, Akiza arrived at passport control. She grinned at the long queue of European passport holders, who were going to be waiting hours to get checked by one very grumpy-looking Sector Security officer.

She smirked as she flashed her passport at the guard, who waved her through. She didn't even have to stop walking.

_That's what you get for making me wait for you guys to clear off the aisle!_ She taunted in her head as she grabbed her bag off the belt and headed to the door.

"Hey, you. Where are you going?" a familiar voice asked, making her heart jump in her chest.

She turned to find herself to stare into a pair of cobalt eyes. "Yusei!" she shrieked, throwing herself at him and hugging him, tightly.

"H-hey, Akiza. Want me to take your bag?" he asked, grabbing it before she could answer. She huffed.

"I told you not to come!" she punched his arm, lightly. "I wasn't joking when I said you look like a zombie."

"I know. I've had the night shift the past few weeks, so my sleeping pattern has gone wonky. I honestly did try to sleep tonight but I couldn't, so, I decided to be useful and pick you up." He shrugged, as the strolled to the car park.

"You didn't have to. And you parked in the car park? It costs a fortune!" Aki pointed at the meters, reading phenomenal costs for parking for more than twenty minutes.

"Sure…" he shrugged, slotting money in and getting a chip in return. "But ever since my cash-spending-brothers left and my job started, I can be a bit lax about my money…"

"You can never be too careful with- Holy crap! You got a _car?_" she shrieked, pointing at the small, black vehicle.

Yusei chuckled at the girl's reaction. "Don't panic. It was second hand and I had to fit the engine, so it didn't cost me much."

He threw her case in the boot and opened the door for her. She sat down in the comfy, leather seat, looking around. Every seat was leather but none of them were exactly the same. The back seats were covered in sheets of paper and pens. A black brief case lay open in the middle seat, spewing even more papers. A crumpled scientist's was hanging over one of the seats.

Yusei sat down and turned the keys, following Aki's glance. "Oh. Ignore that. I had a panic after work; I left the bill at the labs. I was supposed to post that to your dad before he left but…"

"Wait, you work with my dad?" she exclaimed, amazed she didn't know.

"No, not really. I just send him our monthly bill and he yells at me for spending loads." The head signer smiled, pulling out of the car park and onto the road.

They sat in silence for several minutes. Not an awkward one, one that let them relax and enjoy each other's company, after a year being apart.

"How's your arm?" Aki asked, fiddling with the radio. Yusei sighed, looking at it for a second, before gluing his eyes back to the road.

"It started swelling up a few days ago, but it has gone down again. Ah, we're here." Yusei said, as he parked the car and undid his seat belt, looking at Akiza. "You're in Bruno's old room, if that's ok?"

She nodded, opening the door and looked at the garage she had used to visit so often. It was as if the year she had been away hadn't happened. The windows were still grubby, the door's paint was still peeling, the pavement was grubby and the light was dull and flickering.

It was still a dump. And that's what she had missed the most. She had missed the familiar feeling of coming down the ramp and bursting in on four exhausted boys, who had been up all night building an engine.

She had missed sitting in school, desperately waiting for the final bell could ring, so she could go see them.

She missed her arguments with Jack. Her staring contests with Crow. Scolding Leo. Helping Luna with her beginners make up. And Yusei helping with the impossible task of her physics homework. He had always been patient, no matter how angry she got.

She missed… Everything she once had.

* * *

**The Next Day- New York, USA**

Crow turned the sharp corner, the wind rushing past his face. The runner groaned underneath in protest.

"Guys! Give the overall handle a three. It sucks." Crow reported to the people on the screen. His teammates nodded and put a large three next to 'Handle /10'.

Crow and his team were testing out new runners for their sponsors. Being July, there was no tournaments, so they couldn't get out of it. He hated the training months, he had nothing to do and his agent insisted that he learned English.

He was lost in his thoughts until the screen fuzzed, the other members of the team vanishing and another team member's face appeared.

Not from his current team, however.

"Akiza? What the hell?" he shouted, making a dangerous corner. "How the hell did you get the wave current from this runner? It's not even mine!"

She scowled. "Don't ask me. Yusei did."

Crow nearly fell off the machine. "_Yusei?_ Wait, you're home? Back in Japan, I mean?"

Akiza glared at him. "No, Captain Obvious. I'm totally in a bad mood for no reason, apart from the fact I'm still on German time and it's one o'clock in the morning over there!"

"Sorry…" he muttered.

"Anyway, you're coming back in a few days." Akiza glowered. "So start packing!"

It wasn't a question. Crow knew he had to be careful what he said, or the former-psychic-duellist would flip.

"Well, look, I have a tournament coming up…" he lied.

"That is a load of bull. It's July. The next tournament is in September." The girl hissed. "So, I would recommend you get your lazy ass over here, before I come and _kick_ it over here!"

Crow cringed, knowing that that threat wasn't literally possible but she would definitely try.

"Is everyone coming?" Crow asked, hoping he would be one of the last people to arrive, so the burgundy haired girl wouldn't take all her anger out on him.

"Yusei's asking 'round. I think Leo and Luna are coming but I'm not sure. I'm calling Jack after you."

"Good luck with Ja-" he began, but she had already hung up. The picture fuzzed again, to show his worried team members. He swerved into the booth and told them to continue the test run.

He didn't need to test the runner. There was no way he was going to replace his Blackbird. Even for all of the money in the world. He loved his runner and the engine inside it, no matter how out dated the programme was.

Yusei and Bruno had poured their heart and soul into it. And, in honour of Bruno's memory, he would never get it replaced.

But, sometimes even that caused problems. The main one being that Jack had exactly the same idea as him, so they were both equally matched when it came to their tournaments.

_I will beat him this time. _Crow thought as he scratched his arm.

* * *

**Ten years ago- An island in the ocean**

Paradox's runner shook as it hit the ground. The rider looked around trying to identify his surroundings. He groaned as he realised he was 'in the wrong place, at the wrong time'. Literally.

"Hey, dude, what's with the awesome ride?" a voice called, in the dark night. Three people approached him, curiosity burning in their eyes.

"Woah, check it out, Jay! I have never seen anything like it!" a small, blue haired boy cried, running towards it. "Have you, Lex?"

"No, I haven't." the girl said, cocking her head to the side, her light brown hair flying in the gentle breeze. "Excuse me, you are?" she asked the man sitting on it.

"I'm nobody…" he muttered. "Excuse me, but I need to be somewhere…"

"Hey, wait!" the third person cried. The rider turned slowly to stare at the one and only Jaden Yuki. "I think I've seen that runner before…"

He stared up at the man, a suspicious look on his face. He stared at the runner and at the rider again.

_Crap! This is _after _he met Paradox! Of course he recognises the runner! _He inwardly screamed.

"Syrus! Alexis! Slacker! The reunion party is starting without you!" their old teacher screamed from the door.

"Coming, Dr. Crowler!" the three turned to look at their teacher in the distance, distracted.

_That's all I need!_ He thought as he touched the screen and vanished again, in a burst of white light.

Syrus, Alexis and Jaden covered their eyes as a sudden light erupted behind them. They stared at the place where the runner had been, but it was gone.

"Did I just see things or did that man just vanish?" Syrus asked, weakly, staring around the forest.

"Never mind, guys. He was probably a student, currently living here. He probably came to see what the noise was…" Alexis sighed.

"Talking of noise, we better get back to the reunion. I need to say hello to Chazz and Aster. I can't believe it's been five years since I last saw you guys…" Jaden sighed as they walked back to where Dr. Crowler was standing.

* * *

**Present Day- London, UK**

"Thank you so much, Daddy!" Luna cried, giving her father a hug. The man smiled and handed his daughter three tickets. She bowed and left her fathers room, to find Leo patiently waiting.

"I got them!" Luna grinned, waving them in her brother's face. "We fly this weekend!"

"Yes!" Leo cheered, punching the air. "And we got one for Ashley too!"

Luna ran up to the study and fished the passports out of the drawer. Setting them down on the table, she booted the computer up, while Leo texted his girlfriend about the news.

"Yusei! Yusei! We got tickets! We got them!" Leo cried, waving the tickets at the webcam. Yusei blinked.

"That's great guys! When do you fly?" he smiled.

"This weekend. We get in Sunday afternoon." Luna smiled. "Ashley will be with us, as well."

"Well, that's brilliant guys!" Yusei chuckled. "Crow should be coming over soon and I'm trying to get a hold of Jack."

"And Akiza?" Leo demanded.

"I'm already here." A grumpy voice called from the room. Leo blinked as a very tired and grumpy Akiza appeared on the screen, next to Yusei.

"Hey, Akiza!" Luna cried, waving at the camera. "How're you?"

"Tired…" the doctor grumbled.

"We noticed." Leo laughed. "Hey, since Akiza's been back before everyone else, have you two been-"

"Leo, if you care for your health and wellbeing, you won't dare finish that sentence!" Aki hissed.

"Sorry, sorry." Leo scratched his head awkwardly. "Anyway, we'll see you guys on Sunday!" he hung up, Akiza's glare scaring the hell out of him.

"She's gonna kill you…" Luna smirked, folding her arms.

* * *

**Present day- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil**

Jack awoke to the sound of his Japanese phone ringing, which was strange.

The former king had four mobile phones; the American one, for his American sponsors/fellow duellists/tournament holders. The European one, for his European sponsors/fellow duellists/tournament holders. The Asian one, for his Asian sponsors/fellow duellists/tournament holders. And then, the Japanese one. True, Japan is in Asia but it was a phone only his closest friends called.

"Wassup?" he asked, holding it to his ear.

"Hey, Jack Ass." The feminine voice called back. Jack suppressed a groan.

It was Akiza.

"What do you want?" Jack demanded, pulling himself out of bed and staring out the window.

"Stuff everything you're doing and come home. Now." She stated. Jack blinked. He hadn't spoken to Akiza in a while and had forgotten her ways of demanding.

"I can't. Sorry." Jack sighed.

"Why not? You don't have any tournaments." She yelled.

"Look, I'll say it again, I can't!" Jack hissed.

"Well, I'll say it again too! Why?" she demanded.

"Personal reasons." He said gruffly.

"Well, Jack, I'm a doctor, so you can tell me." She said simply. Jack caved at that.

"I'm in hospital…" he sighed.

"What? Why?" the girl demanded.

"My arm has been bothering me. I've been having rashes and pains from it for weeks."

"Feeling lightheaded?" she asked.

"Yeah…"

"Well, join the club! Yusei and I have it too!"

"Seriously?"

"Why would I lie about it?"

"Good point. Anyway, that's why I can't come over."

"No. That's an even better reason for you to come over!" she said down the line. "New DominoCity has excellent health care and you'll get it for free because you're a citizen."

"I know, but…"

"And I'll personally look at it when you come over." She finished.

"Ok, ok. Fine. I'll see when I can come."

"You'd better. Call Yusei when you've booked the tickets."

Then, she hung up.

* * *

**Thirty years ago- Unknown place, the World (duh)**

The runner landed; a much smoother landing than previously. He stared around.

_Yes! _He thought. _This is where I wanted to be!_

* * *

**Cat: Please review.**

**Rena: Cat guessed the time gaps between the Yu-Gi-Oh! Series. There is no proof that Jaden lived 10 years, 20 years or 100 years before Yusei. But we do know that Yugi and Jaden are in similar timelines 'cause he says hi in episode 1.**


	3. Chapter 3- Reunion

**Cat: I should apologise.**

**Rena: Yes, you should.**

**Cat: I've restarted school. So, i have to do homework, attend clubs, yada yada yada.**

**Rena: Cat doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5ds or the original Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Cat: signerleo owns Ashley and... the mysterious man...**

**IMPORTANT: I haven't actually seen the original Yu-Gi-Oh season 4 (i know, i know) But signerleo insisted on a character from there being used. If this person is OOC, don't sit on your arse, doing nothing! Tell me and i will fix it! (but, if you do that, you have to tell me what he's like, don't just rant, ok?)**

* * *

**Present Day- New Domino Airport, New Domino City**

Leo tried to hold his lunch down. He really did. But when the plane touched down on Japanese 'soil' he threw up all over his jeans. The air stewardess wrinkled her nose as she passed. For good measure, Leo glared at her.

"Good thing it packed an extra set of clothes for everyone in my hand luggage," Luna sighed, reaching above her and pulling out a small, blue suitcase. She unzipped it and threw Leo a new pair of trousers.

"Change." Luna hissed.

"What? I'm in the middle of a moving aeroplane! I'm not allowed to get up and go to the toilet!" Leo wailed at his sister.

"I said _change_," Luna hissed. "Better doing it now before everyone gets up to leave."

Leo moaned, pulling his blanket over himself and changing. Ashley tried not to giggle at the moving mass that was Leo changing his trousers.

Finally, the blue-haired boy emerged, wearing his new pair of jeans. Luna handed him a plastic bag, where he placed the sick-soiled ones in. At that second, the seatbelt sign disappeared and everyone stood up.

"Go, go, go!" Ashley cried, grabbing her hand case and running to the end of the plane. Luna followed and Leo trailed after. Watching movies for the whole over-night flight seemed a good idea at the time, but now he was completely drained, unlike the two girls he had travelled with, who had slept almost the whole flight.

They charged out the plane and shot through passport control as if the very Devil was after them. Unfortunately, they were so quick; the bags hadn't even been unloaded before they had arrived.

"Just our luck," Ashley groaned. "Our bags will probably be the last three off!"

Luna shrugged, perching on the metal rim of the conveyer belt. "That gives us time to call Yusei, then."

She pulled out a smart phone and hit speed-dial.

"Hey, Yusei. Uh-huh. Yep. We're here. Yes. Yep, just touched down. Great. Yep. Uh-huh. Ok, see you there!"

"Well?" her brother asked, irritated he didn't catch the conversation.

"Yusei and Akiza are here." Luna said simply.

"Where?" Leo demanded.

"Right behind you." A familiar voice called, directly behind the blue-haired boy.

"Doofus," Akiza added to the end of Yusei's sentence.

* * *

**15 years ago…**

"Please, Master, I will be forever in your debt!" he cried, on his knees.

"Enough! I have told you, stranger, that I don't do errands for anybody!" The man shouted. "Rafael! Valon! Alister! Escort him out!"

"But-"

"No buts!" he roared.

"I come from the future! I told you this! I know that you are defeated by Yami Yugi when you fight him! However, I can help you!"

Dartz turned and glared at the man, being dragged out by Rafael.

"Bring him back," he sighed. "Ok, stranger, I'll listen."

"It is simple, Lord Dartz. I will take you forward in time and we will defeat a threat in the future-"

"This threat being?" Dartz asked, surveying him through suspicious eyes.

"Team 5ds, sir. My previous master Z-One was defeated by them. He was trying to rewrite history but they killed him, because didn't care about the destruction of the future."

"And we will defeat them how? That is, of course, if I agree to side with your little plan."

"Duel them, sir. They are talented duellists but they pale in comparison to your skill." He said.

"I, of course, will be the leader of this, I presume?" Dartz asked.

"Yes, of course."

"And then you will aid me?"

"Yes, until the very end." The man bowed his head lower.

"I will be taking my henchmen, of course," Dartz asked, pointing at Rafael, Valon and Alister.

"Yes, Lord Dartz,"

"Good. Well, if you are as you say, you will prove yourself very useful working under me… Your name?"

"Max," the man said, looking Dartz in the eye.

* * *

**Present Day- The airport (again)**

"Be patient, Leo," Akiza scowled, sipping her lemonade. Leo jumped up and down in his chair, his drink untouched.

"I know! But, Jack and Crow will be here any minute! And when they arrive, Team 5ds will have reunited!" Leo cried.

"We're not dense, Leo," Luna muttered, taking a sip from her hot chocolate.

"So, what are Jack and Crow like? I mean, I have chatted to them before on video chat with Leo and Luna but…" Ashley asked, taking a bite from her chocolate cake.

"Being their brother, I can't say," Yusei chuckled.

"They're awesome!" Leo cried.

"There idiots who can't hold down a proper job so, they rely on sponsors and the public to give them a salary." Akiza growled.

Ashley gave Akiza a look and backed down in her seat. Yusei smiled.

"Don't worry. She's all bark but no bite. She's still jetlagged, so she's been in a funny mood. But she'll snap out of it, eventually. She's actually a very kind person."

Ashley nodded, taking another bite of her cake.

"Yo! Yus'! We're here!" a voice called from the arrivals lounge. The five turned to see two familiar people walking towards them. One had spiky orange hair, the other was blonde. Ashley blinked.

"Jack! Crow!" Yusei cried, running out of the café and slapping his brother's on the back. "There you are!"

"It's good to be back!" Crow grinned. Jack folded his good arm, the other one in a sling.

"Oi! Jack! Crow!" they turned to see Leo and Luna running towards them.

"Wow! You've grown guys!" Crow cried, hugging them both tightly to his chest. "You're both gonna be taller than Yusei!"

Yusei scowled. "It's kinda ironic that you say that to annoy me, but you are shorter than me."

"Good things come in small packages!" Crow whined.

Lastly, Akiza and Ashley trailed out the café, chatting quietly.

"Hey Akiza! Long time no see!" Crow cheered.

"I know. My life has been so much better." Akiza muttered. Ashley giggled slightly at Crow's reaction.

"Cold, Akiza, real cold!" he sighed. "And I see you haven't spoken much!" he yelled at Jack.

"It's really good to see you all," Jack said lamely. "Now, can we please leave? I have been on a twelve hour flight with Crow, so now I need to have some beauty sleep."

"Well, you most definitely need it," Crow sniggered.

"Shut it, Birdbrain,"

"Not until you shut it, Jack Ass," Crow fired back.

"Time to go!" Yusei laughed, grabbing their arms and pulling them out the airport. "You've met Ashley before, right?"

"Yep, Leo's girlfriend. Hey! She's almost as tall as you, Yusei!" Crow jeered.

"Shut it, Crow, or you will be walking home," Yusei growled.

"Yep. It's official." Luna sighed, falling into step with Akiza.

"What?" Akiza asked.

"Team 5ds has definitely reunited!"

* * *

**One year ago- Arc Cradle**

"Master! Please hang on!" a breathless voice shouted in the darkness. The heart monitor was getting slower and slower, the numbers sliding down the scale.

Max watched himself desperately trying to repair Z-One's body. Quickly, he snuck around himself, making sure he hadn't been seen. He ran to the next room and found what he was looking for.

Two bodies, covered in white sheets on the table. He pulled the sheets away to reveal two familiar faces.

"Antimony. Aporia. I need your help," he hissed.

* * *

**Present Day- The garage, NewDominoCity**

"Look, Jack, the longer you complain, the longer this is gonna take!" Akiza screeched at the blonde duellist. "Now, let me see your arm!"

"But I can't take it out of the sling!" Jack complained. "It hurts too much!"

Yusei, Crow, Leo, Luna and Ashley watched the whole scene unfold in the kitchen.

"Hopefully, she'll be able to check us quickly and then we'll be able to get to bed." Yusei sighed, stifling a yawn.

Several minutes past and the team watched Akiza rip the sling (her patience had worn too thin) and inspect Jack's arm.

"Yes… Yes… Just as I thought…" Akiza muttered to herself, staring at his arm at different angles. "I would say eczema."

"Are you mad!?" Jack raged. "It makes me faint from pain! It has something to do internally!"

"Jack. I. Am. The. Doctor. Not. You." Akiza said venomously, washing her hands in the sink.

"Fine." Jack stormed off, presumably to his room.

Akiza peered at the rest of the team, falling asleep on their feet. "Roll up your sleeves; this will only take a few seconds."

She peered at everyone's arms; all at a different stage of rashes, scars and flakes. She handed everyone a bottle of skin cream.

"Cover your arm with this twice a day," she said. "Now, I am going to bed."

Everyone nodded and began ascending the stairs like zombies. Yusei caught up with Aki and began whispering in her ear.

"Isn't it a bit weird that Ashley has rashes too?" he asked her.

"No. It's probably contagious and she's caught it from Leo or someone."

"You sure?"

"Yusei, it is three o'clock in the morning. It could be the apocalypse and I couldn't care less"

* * *

**Cat: Yes, Dartz is the character signerleo wanted me to use. If he is OOC tell me in a PM or review. If i get none about him, then i will presume that he acts like that and he will be like that throughout the story.**

**Rena: Please review! Even if you don't want to write about Dartz, tell us what you think!**

**Cat: And another thing, if i'm taking ages to post up a chapter, PM me or stick a review up, telling me to move my fat arse. Big thank you to Gazorscreen for telling me to do that ^^**


	4. Chapter 4- A Stab in the Back?

Chapter 4- A Stab in the Back?

**Cat: I was thinking...**

**Rena: oh, dear god, help**

**Cat: That these chapters should be a once a month thing... Like Manga releases...**

**Rena: *groans***

**Cat: It would give me a deadline, so i'm not lazy!**

**Rena: IMPORTANT: Every chapter of this story from now on will be released on the ****_TWENTY FIFTH OF EVERY MONTH!_**

* * *

**Present Day- The Garage, New Domino City**

"The Wi-Fi is crummy here!" Akiza whined, waving her IPhone in the air, looking for a sliver of a signal.

"Sorry, Akiza, nothin' I can do about that," Yusei sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes, there is! You can move house!" she whined, standing up, still looking for a signal.

"I'll marry rich then," Yusei sighed, closing his eyes.

"Fine by me. But personally, marrying Luna is a bit weird…"

Yusei's eyes snapped open. "Hang on, I never said that!"

"Luna is the richest girl you know!" Akiza taunted, stepping closer, her IPhone still being held in the air.

"I thought you were richer than Luna," he grumbled.

"What? You wanna marry me now?"

"What are you guys talking about!?" Luna shrieked, running down the stairs.

"Yusei wants to marry you," the red-headed woman stated, smiling.

Luna paled, looking like she was going to faint.

"I did not say that!" Yusei hissed.

Luna sighed. "Yeah, I doubt you did, Yusei… Akiza, what are you doing?"

"No, Akiza. I'm sitting here! I am sitting- OOF!" Yusei groaned as Aki dumped herself down ontop of him.

"Finally! A signal!" she chirped.

"Ow…" Yusei grumbled.

"Mornin'" Crow said, as he descended the stairs, walking towards the kitchen.

"Don't you mean 'afternoon'?" Jack asked grumpily from the kitchen table.

"What? No. It's only nine o'cl… Wha? How is it two pm!?" Crow shrieked, staring down at Akiza IPhone clock. She quickly hid it from Crow by shoving it down her shirt. Everyone stared at her.

"What? I have some very personal information on it!" she said indignantly.

"Like what? Your body measuremen-" Crow didn't manage to finish his sentence. Akiza sprung up from her seat and smacked him over the head.

"NO!" she shrieked at him, storming off upstairs.

"Ok, now I want to see her phone!" Crow said cheekily. Yusei sighed, standing up.

"Want to go see something, guys?" he asked, walking over to his old, battered laptop.

"You still got that old thing?" Jack said as he wandered over. "That has definitely seen better days."

"Well, so have you, Jack, but we don't point that out!" Crow called, as he rummaged through the fridge.

Jack opened his mouth to reply but Yusei interrupted him. "We could go to the cinema? Or how about a duel?"

"Let's duel!" Crow cried enthusiastically from the freezer. "But not right now!"

Yusei rolled his eyes. "Well, ok then. Leo, Luna and Ashley are going to go sightseeing in a little bit."

"I am not going sightseeing!" Jack said stubbornly.

"Fine. We'll just go see Martha then." Yusei shrugged.

"We'll go sightseeing!" The two men wailed. Yusei smirked.

"Ashley! Leo! Luna! I got your supervision sorted!" he called.

The three teenagers cheered from the TV room.

"You… You set us up?" Crow asked weakly.

"Yes. Yes, I did Crow. Now hurry up and finish your 'brunch'. You'll be leaving in ten minutes."

"WHAT!?" Crow shrieked.

"We've booked tickets for the zoo!" Leo screamed, bounding in.

"Yippee…" Jack muttered, sarcastically.

* * *

**Present Day- Unknown place**

"Lord Dartz, I would like to introduce my henchmen-" Max began.

"_Henchmen!?"_ a girl demanded.

"Fine… _Minions_, Toby and Maria." Max gritted his teeth at his friend.

Dartz surveyed the two people standing in front of him. One was a girl with long, ginger hair that tumbled down her back in a neat sweep. She wore a dark red blouse and a blue zipper on top, to warm herself in the chilly air. She had piercing blue eyes and an intelligent look about her heart-shaped face. She was quite tall, her long, skinny legs showing under her knee-length shorts. On her small feet were blue sandals and on her hands were blue finger-less gloves with red stripes.

Standing next to her was a boy with light brown hair and golden eyes. He had a neutral look about his face, not showing any emotion. He wore dark denim jeans and a black jacket. Just in view was his blue t-shirt and on his feet were original black converse. Around his neck, he wore a silver pendant, in the shape of a circular pyramid.

"You present two _children _to me and call it help?" Dartz shrieked at Max who flinched like he had been struck.

"My lord, they are the most skilled mechanics of the twenty second century! They are a tag-team duel pair! Does it matter that they are fourteen?"

"_Fifteen_," Maria corrected him.

"Yeah, whatever…" Max muttered. "Have you done as I asked, you two?"

Maria scowled. "Well, yeah. You didn't make it easy. It would have been ideal for a twenty second processor instead of the ID seven running-"

"But you've done it?" Max asked sweetly. Dartz watched Toby scowl at Max.

"Yeah. We have." Toby shot Max a warning glare, pulling Maria towards himself. "However, he split."

The four people walked into a room to find another four waiting for them.

"Antimony. Primo. Jakob. Lester. My _friends_." Max addressed the men. They all turned to look at him. They all blinked in surprise.

"We are in grave danger," Max continued. "Despite our valiant efforts, the future hasn't been changed and Team 5ds are still alive. We have to defeat them in the name of progress! Under Lord Dartz, we will defeat them!"

"So, what are we going to do?" Primo asked lazily, folding his arms.

"I have done my research into Team 5ds. I know about their old foes and their old ways-" Max began.

"What? As in the Dark Signers? God, I remember reading about that in a history book…" Maria muttered.

"The Dark Signers were intelligent. They split them up, so they couldn't come to each others aid fast enough. If you see the results, one duel hadn't been completed. They had technically lost. I say, we reproduce this arena."

"Sorry?" Antimony blinked.

"We split them up, all over the city and the Satellite. We need the twins split up. Akiza Izinski didn't complete her duel by sun down. Fudo ended up running to almost every single duel and picking up the pieces."

"So the plan?" Jakob demanded.

Dartz sighed. "Split them up; take them _down_."

* * *

**Ten Years Ago- Unknown place**

Maria snuck around the corner of the corridor, keeping her body close to the wall. Max came behind her, desperately trying not to make a sound. Unfortunately, stealth was not his strong point.

"Why did you have to come?" Maria hissed under her black face mask. "I could have taken Toby! He's better at this than you. Or, I could have done this by myself. I would have done it by now."

"Admit it; you enjoy being with me more that Toby."

"Did you even hear a word I said?" she demanded, as she scouted ahead, crouching low. "You're useless!"

"You love me, really." Max smirked. Maria stopped and straightened up, pulling her mask off, her hair tumbling down her back as she pulled her ponytail out.

"We have _discussed _this. I like Toby. Not you. Besides, your four years older than me. I find that creepy."

"When did age ever have a part in this?" Max asked, catching a strand of hair that was blowing from the slight breeze. Maria tugged herself away violently, her hair tugging in his fingertips and ripping off. She sprawled on the floor, bashing her head on a radiator.

"I would rather die than love you," Maria chocked, standing up.

"Well, your going the correct way about it," Max whispered venomously, taking a step away from her.

"Good. Now, let's find them." Maria brushed herself down and looked at him as if the past conversation had never existed. She took off down the hall at a soft, silent sprint, Max in pursuit.

"What are you doing?" a low, female voice questioned in the darkness. Maria felt the shivers up her spine as a tall, slender woman appeared in their way.

In the rafters of the building, she could hear the sound of wings and squeaks. Bats. The woman in front of her wore a maroon long, tight, revealing dress with straps that fell off her shoulders. Her green hair fell down to the top her legs, making her seem even taller than she was. In a weird way, she was beautiful.

But Maria knew what Camula; the 'vampire' was capable of.

"Lady Camula," Max stood in front of Maria and bowed low. Maria did the same, awkwardly. "How wonderful it is to finally meet you. My name is Max. I believe you and your fellow umm… _comrades _received my letter?"

"Why yes. We have been expecting you. Who is your friend? Do tell me, is she a snack?" Camula purred, and then let out a shriek of evil laughter, her face contorting and her tongue lolling out in a spiral of muscle. Maria shuddered, again.

"No, this is my girlfriend, Maria," Max smiled. Maria opened her mouth to interrupt and say that it was a spiral of lies but Max shot her a glare that made her freeze inside. She shut her mouth but glared at him with all of her might.

Camula licked her lips and shrugged, pulling her grotesque tongue back into her mouth. Without a word, she started walking down the never-ending corridor and opened a room to the side.

"Come in," she giggled. "Please, make yourself comfortable."

Max and Maria slipped in. Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind them and the noise of bat wings could be heard.

Camula was gone.

"Please don't say she's lured us in here for her dinner," Maria groaned.

They looked around to see a simple, four walled room. It had no windows but a bright light bulb hanging from a wire from the ceiling. The floor was made out of the same metal as the floor in the corridor and the walls were painted in a simple cream colour. In the far left corner was a small kitchen unit littered with ready-made-meal packaging. In the centre of the room was a dark red sofa, covered in rips and stains.

And, sitting ontop was none other than (as Maria called him) the first of the 'Shadow Riders', Nightshroud.

"Ah, you must be Max," he leaned back in his chair. Max bowed again.

"Yes, Lord Darkness of the Seven Stars Assassins, I am." Max said, straightening up.

"What?" Maria asked. "Darkness? Seven Stars Assassins? What is going on? I thought we were looking for Nightshroud from the Shadow Riders!"

Max smirked. "You are too reliant on American textbooks, my love. They twist the facts of the true story."

"For the last time, I am not your-" Maria began to shout before she remembered that she was in present of dangerous company.

"I do not have time for a lover's spat." Darkness drawled. "I am a busy man. But I have read your _interesting _letter. You believe that we wouldn't have to fight for the Sacred Beast cards. Instead-"

"They are taken from the school in 2025, sir. They are on display in a museum in California. You would not have to fight for them. Just come and do a little job for me and I will get them for you."

"That little job being?"

"A few duels in the future. I need to eradicate a few evil souls there. Will you help us?"

"Well, you do drive a good but hard bargain. Do you just need me?" Darkness asked.

"No, sir. I would like to request Lady Camula to come as well." Max asked.

Darkness sighed. "Camula? Really? She sucks out people's souls and puts them in hideous dolls. Have you seen it? Uh, it's so pointless. I'll take her along, but she must promise not to seal souls in dolls. They look better in cards. You hear me, Camula?"

He turned and glared at a bat that had been hanging upside down on the ceiling the whole time. Its red eyes glowed and it flew away, up a rafter.

Then, the door banged open again.

"Well, my snack- I mean, my friends, let us go." She purred.

* * *

**Present Day- New Domino City Highstreet**

"Ha! London's made you soft, you three! It's not even that hot!" Crow jeered, as they walked down the high street.

"It's too hot to function!" Leo screamed, dragging his feet.

"I'm thirsty…" Ashley croaked.

"I'm hungry…" Luna whimpered.

"I wanna go back to the garage!" Jack complained.

It was a mild day in Japan. A heat wave was due in a few weeks and they were just starting to feel it. However, the three teenagers, who had spent almost a whole year in a country with the most meteorically uneventful weather on the planet, were suffering.

"London doesn't have this kind of weather! We're used to a little bit of rain and wind. Hardly any sunshine! This is killing us!" Leo complained.

They were nearing their destination and even Crow's temper was wearing thin.

"We're almost home, guys, just walk a few more- Hey, who's that?" Crow asked, halfway through his coaxing.

Lying in the middle of the square was a boy. He lay sprawled on the hard ground, face down, blood pooling out from several cuts on his chest. One arm was twisted at an awkward angle and his face was covered in bruises. In addition, his long, red hair was matted in blood.

"Oh, hell. AKIZA!" Crow shrieked, shouting in the direction of the garage door. Yusei and Akiza burst out and ran to the small group of people.

"Oh, dear god." She gasped. "Boys, can you flip him over onto his front?"

The men nodded and gingerly flipped him over gently. His hair covered his face as Akiza put him into the recovery position.

"He's been beaten up but no major damage, apart from a broken left arm. For goodness sakes boys! His hair will restrict his breathe- SWEET JESUS!" she screamed, recoiling as if she had been bitten while lifting his hair to reveal his face.

"But… Isn't he…?" Crow whispered.

"Dead?" Jack finished.

It was one of Aporia's three pieces.

It was Lester.

* * *

**Present Day- Unknown place**

"He _what!?"_ Max demanded, slamming his fist into the wall, creating huge cracks.

"He didn't like the plan." Primo hissed. "So he ran."

"Hey, that rhymes!" Toby cheered from across the room.

Max shot Toby a death glare. "Why didn't you try and stop him!?"

Jakob sighed. "We tried. But he obviously wasn't going to co-operate."

"We did beat him up really bad but he still ran." Primo chewed on some chewing gum.

"Where too?" Max seethed.

"Team 5Ds," Jakob shrugged.

"_You useless IDIOTS!_" Max screamed. "_The enemy have been tipped off and all you do is __**shrug your shoulders!?**__"_

Maria saw the perfect opportunity and shrugged hers. "Cool it, Max. Shoulder shrugging is perfectly natural."

"Shut it, Maria." Max snapped.

"Oh, ok. Does this mean your going to stop hitting on me?" she asked hopefully.

Max took a deep breath and exhaled very, very slowly.

"No."

"Go fuck yourself with a cactus," Maria glared at him and flounced off to Toby's corner.

"Now that I have thought it through, I am grateful Lester has gone to 5Ds."

"Uhh… Why?" Toby asked, scratching his head.

"Because I told him the plan."

"Yeah. Wasn't that the problem?" Primo asked.

"I told him Plan A. But now, folks, it's time for Plan B." Max said, evilly.

"Yeah, that's right, Max. If Plan A doesn't work, don't worry. You've still got another twenty five letters left." Maria said sarcastically.

* * *

**ANY PROBLEMS? REVIEW AND TELL ME, LAZY ASS!**

**Even if you don't have any issues, please review anyway! ^^**


	5. Chapter 5- We Missed You

Chapter 5- We Missed You

**Cat: Please review!**

**Rena: Story and OC's belong to signerleo**

**Cat: I know i said this would go up on the 25th but... I'm kinda in England that week, so... Happy Birthday!?**

* * *

**Present Day- New Domino City**

The sun shone through the grimy, unclean windows, shining a dull glow. Lester groaned and squeezed his eyes tighter in an attempt to block out the sun and sleep. He groaned and tried to roll over.

But, for some reason, his right arm wouldn't move. It was dangling above his head. He tried to move it down beside his body and ended up nearly pulling his arm out of its socket. He could feel the pressure of cold metal cutting into his wrist.

Panicking, he tried to sit up. He was so quick, he nearly broke his chained arm and he slammed his face into an object that was hovering above him. He wouldn't have cared about the object if it hadn't _squeaked_.

He blinked several times, adjusting his mechanical vision. A blue and pink blob blurred in and out of focus several times before they adjusted. They didn't have to though; Lester knew who it was.

"I'm sorry," Luna whispered, rubbing her forehead, where their heads had made contact. "I shouldn't have been leaning over like that. I should have known you would wake up panicked."

"Luna?" he asked, trying to sit up. "Wha? What happened? Where am I?"

Luna sighed sadly, reaching behind him and plumping the pillow his ginger head had been resting on seconds previously. "Do you not remember?"

Lester racked his brains. What had happened again? Everything was a jumble of dreams, reality and machine inputs (well, he was a cyborg, after all). "Well, I remember leaving… Oh God… Primo and Jakob…"

"Primo and Jakob? Wait, those are the other two from Team New World, right? The other two pieces of Aporia?" Luna asked, sitting next to him.

"Yeah… They… They did this… They attacked me as I… As I left…" His memory was beginning to sort itself out.

"Left?" Luna asked. She opened her mouth to ask another question but then, Lester's memory fully restored.

"You must leave!" he cried, snatching Luna's hands between his own. "You are in danger here!"

"What?" Luna asked, her golden eyes clouding in fear.

"Oh, never mind!" Lester growled in frustration. "Get me Fudo; he's still your leader, right?"

"Y-Yeah, but he's asleep right now!" Luna protested. "And you need to rest!"

"I don't care! I need to talk to your leader! There isn't much time!" Lester shouted, trying to stand up. To his enormous surprise, Luna pushed him back down on the sofa.

"No. You are resting." She said firmly. "Yusei will probably be awake in a couple of hours; you can talk to him then. Akiza will also take a look at your injuries."

"I'm a cyborg!" Lester cried, peeling away a bit of the skin by his forehead to reveal a metal skull and many multi-coloured wires. "I hardly feel pain!"

"But you have a human brain!" Luna snapped. "You bleed like a human! You talk like a human! You laugh like a human! You grow like a human! You catch illnesses, just like a human! You _think _like a human! So, you probably feel _pain _like a _human_!"

Lester hissed, lay down on the sofa and turned his back to the teenage girl. Her logic was 100% correct but he refused to admit it. He was aching all over. His head was throbbing, his throat was parched, his stomach churned and his heart throbbed. All he had ever known were his two other pieces; Primo and Aporia and now, they had turned him away.

"I'm sorry," Luna whispered, coming up behind him, pulling his hair gently. Despite his sulkiness, he stared at her.

"How come you know what I'm thinking?" Lester asked her, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Luna stared down at him for a second, and then laughed.

"I don't, silly," Luna smiled.

"Then what are you sorry for?" he asked.

"Well, when you were unconscious, I decided to play hairdressers with your hair."

Lester groaned and sat up, desperately trying to see what he looked like. He took a double take at the face he saw in the metal pole, where his wrist was chained.

There, in the metal, was himself. Pale, wrapped in bandages, wearing a pair of clothes a size to small for him. He instantly recognised them as some of Leo's spare clothes. His vivid eyes shone out of his head but his hair… It was tied in a simple ponytail.

"I thought you looked alright," Luna shrugged. "But now that I look at it, you can see your Jugular vein…?" she asked, peering at his neck. Instead of the usual vein, there was a large green pipe, protected by only a thin layer of skin. It was quite visible with his hair tied back.

"I call it my Jugular pipe," he touched it gingerly with his unchained hand.

"That probably wouldn't be good if it got knocked or hit out of place," Luna muttered.

"Meh, it's no big deal. My body can live for thirty minutes without oxygen. The machine keeps it going for as long as possible."

Luna nodded. "By that time, you'll be able to get it fixed, yeah?"

"Hopefully. I just need to be careful…" he trailed off, imagining a computer screen blacking out for the last time.

"I don't remember that… From, y'know, when I last saw you…" Luna said, trying not to bring up the memories of Jakob, Primo and Lester combining to make Aporia, which nearly gave her heart failure.

"It's new… The mechanics put it in so I could function again."

"Wait; is this, like, your second life or something?" Luna's eyes widened.

"Technically, it's my forth," Lester shrugged. "But, I have a feeling; this will be the last time…"

"Jeez… Happy days," Luna laughed awkwardly. "Would you like something to drink? Eat, maybe?"

"That would be awesome, thanks," Lester smiled. She nodded and shuffled away into the kitchen. The second she was gone, Lester sprang up and desperately tried to reach for his jacket.

He had noticed it as he had been talking to Luna. The machine in his brain calculated that it was just in his reach.

"Come… On…" he wheezed, grabbing at thin air. Then, he managed to grab the material of the blood-stained garment. He threw it down next to him and went through the pockets.

He hurriedly pulled out his phone and dialled with his one hand.

"Hey, it's me." He said, interrupting the receiving person.

"Lester? Thank god, your ok!" the voice cried.

"Never mind that!" Lester snapped. "Meet me tomorrow at a café called Cafe la Green. Hear me?"

"Oh… Ok…" the voice muttered.

Lester hung up.

* * *

**Previous Night- New Domino City**

Yusei knew he was desperate for sleep if he was counting sheep. But, for some reason, even that wasn't working.

"Five thousand and twenty six…" he muttered. "Five thousand and twenty seven…"

_Who invented this crap_? He asked himself, as he lay in the darkness. After hours of tossing and turning, he finally fell into a restless sleep.

_"Why, hello, Yusei," _a voice called out to him. Yusei turned to face the voice, facing a very familiar face. Was it the fact that they had met once? Or the fact that, even though he was several years dead, he was the face of Duel Monsters?

"Y-Yugi?" Yusei asked, remembering his adventures to the past.

_"Atem,"_ he shrugged. _"But you can call me Yugi, if you wish…"_

"Right…" Yusei muttered. "Wait, is this real? Or is this happening inside my head?"

"_Was that intentionally a quote from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?" _Atem asked, smirking.

"Uhhh… No…" Yusei muttered, cursing Akiza for reading the same paragraph from the book, over and over again, out loud.

_"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" _Atem nodded. _"Fine book. Much better than Ancient Egyptian ones."_

"You didn't answer my question," Yusei pointed out.

"_I did," _Atem smiled. _"In a beautiful quote by J. K. Rowling from her book-"_

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Yusei sulked, vowing to burn all of Akiza's Harry Potter books when he woke up, starting from the Deathly Hallows.

_"Anyway, Yusei, you seem worried…" _Atem sighed, sitting down on a chair that had materialised out of nowhere.

"Well, we are both quoting Harry Potter like its normal," Yusei pointed out.

_"True, but aren't you worried about something else?" _Atem asked, raising his eyebrows. Yusei racked his brains, going through the many worries he had right now.

"Crap!" Yusei cried. "I haven't paid my electricity bill!"

Atem sweat dropped. _"What about the boy who appeared on the street?"_

"Oh, Lester? Oh… Oh, yeah!" Yusei smacked his right fist into his palm. "Now I remember!"

_"The boy, Lester, has a very alarming story that you must listen to when you wake up." _Atem said.

"Yeah, I have an alarming story too; it involves me, Akiza and hair dye…" Yusei said, sarcastically. _"_He's been beaten to a pulp, he won't be able to inflict that much damage in his state."

"_H_e's _not the problem, though," _Atem complained.

"Then what is?" Yusei asked, starting to feel uncertain.

_"The Seal of Orichalcos." _Yami Yugi explained. _"That is your problem."_

"The Seal of…? Wait, didn't someone you fight have that card? Dark or something?"

"Dartz? Yes. Yes, he did." Atem nodded. "Do you know the effects of the card?"

"Uhhh… No, not really. But at a guess, you loose your soul?"

"_Yep_." Atem nodded as if it was as normal as a trip to the shops. _"All monsters the user controls gains five hundred attack points. Once per turn, the card cannot be destroyed by card effects. While the user controls two or more face up attack position monsters, the opponent cannot target_ _their monsters with the lowest attack points. When the card is activated, it destroys all special summoned monsters the owner controls."_

Yusei paled. "Yeah… That card…"

_"Why do you look panicked, Yusei? You should be grateful; you now know what your enemy is capable of!" _Atem gazed at the man, confused.

"Enemy? What enemy? We've been relieved of our marks! We are no longer servants of the Crimson Dragon! Are marks are-" Yusei wanted to say gone but he couldn't. For some reason, Yusei's mouth glued shut.

_"You might want to check that out before you wake up, my friend," _Atem chuckled.

"Anyway, this card sounds impossible to defeat!" Yusei pointed out.

_"I defeated it,"_

"You're the King of Games!" Yusei snapped at him. "Of course you defeated it!"

"_Calm down, Yusei. It is not impossible. Nothing is impossible. The card has many weaknesses; you just need to find them."_

"Give me an example," Yusei sulked.

"_Well, once the card is destroyed, it can't be reused. It can only be used once per duel."_ Atem grinned.

"Oh…" Yusei sighed, feeling a bit stupid.

_"There are other weaknesses. You just have to look for them." _

"Well… Yeah, that's the case for every card in Duel Monsters…" Yusei sighed.

_"Exactly. So, chin up. I have somewhere I need to be," _The King of Games said, looking behind him, as if he had seen or heard something behind him. All Yusei could see was black. _"Good bye, Yusei."_

"See ya." Yusei tried to smile.

_"Good luck." _With that, the best duellist in the word vanished into golden triangles, which spread through out the darkness and then disappeared, like a destroyed monster.

"Hello, you're Yusei, right?" a deep voice called from behind him. Yusei turned to face two people, one man and one woman, dressed in very strange outfits.

The Dark Magician and the Dark Magician.

"Well, who else would he be?" The girl asked, folding her arms. "It's not like we have millions of people here in this lonely dimension."

"Sorry, how do you know who I am?" Yusei asked the two duel spirits.

"Didn't he tell you?" The girl gestured behind him, where Atem had just vanished.

"Nope."

"He told us who you were and that we have to tell you something _really _important." She smirked.

"Ok, so what is it?" Yusei asked.

"Not telling." She said, waggling her tongue at him and turning away, a triumphant grin on her heart-shaped face.

"Do you know what it is?" Yusei asked the older and wiser magician, who looked like he wanted to cast some unpleasant spells on his apprentice.

"No, unfortunately, I don't. Atem only told her because… I was busy…"

"Napping!" she shouted. "And not trying to get me on the Magicians council! I'm going to be an apprentice _forever_!"

"You haven't proven yourself worthy yet!" he hissed. "Now, tell the poor duellist what Atem said!"

"Make me!" she yelled at him, miming to zip her mouth shut and throw away the key, a gesture that Yusei was very familiar with. He always pointed out to Akiza that a zip doesn't actually have a key.

"If you don't say what you have to say, you will be an apprentice forever!" The Dark Magician warned.

"No I won't. You'll get bored and hire someone else."

"I'll just have to force it out of you!" the higher ranked magician shouted, waving his sceptre.

Suddenly, Yusei heard a scream from behind him. He recognised the cry immediately.

"Akiza!?" he shouted into the darkness. It began to get lighter and, right at the end, he could see the ceiling of his room.

"He's waking up!" The Dark Magician cried, shaking the girl.

"I'm not saying a word!"

"FINE! I'll talk to the elders! I'll have you put on the council!" he submitted, angrily.

"Great!" she chirped. "Oh! The message was to-"

She didn't manage to finish her sentence, because Yusei had woken up and was just about to go running out of bed, trying to locate the screaming girl when a bucket of water was thrown over his head.

"Did you not hear me scream?!" Akiza demanded, standing over him, with her bucket, watching his splutter and gasp.

"Yes..." he wheezed. "I was just coming to!"

"I could have been _murdered! _And you were 'coming to!?'"

"Wait? Someone broke in and tried to kill you!?" Yusei shrieked. Akiza stared at him.

"What? No. Where did you get that idea?"

"You just said you could have been killed!" Yusei pointed out to her.

"Oh, yeah. No, I meant like 'the scream could have been me dying' not 'me defending myself from murderers'."

"Right…?" Yusei sighed, not understanding a word she was uttering. "Wait, why were you screaming, if you weren't being murdered?"

"Oh? The real reason? Nothing in particular…" she smiled.

Yusei groaned, slumping down in the sheets. "I woke up for nothing, then?"

"Oh, yeah, totally… Apart from the fact **_our birthmarks have returned!_**" she cried, dragging Yusei's arm out from the warm sheets. Yusei stared for a few seconds at the ruby red marks.

It was back.

"Cool…" he said. "But we suspected this, right? So, did you really have to wake me up?"

"Lester is also conscious. But, seeing as you don't really care and are clearly not pleased to see me, I'll go myself." She sulked.

"No, I didn't say that," he sighed, defeated. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

Akiza watched him pull himself out of bed and wring his hair out. She scanned the room as he hurriedly got dressed in the bathroom. Then, her eyes fell on a silver card lying on his cabinet.

"Yusei! I think you've dropped a synchro monster!" she called.

"What?" he called, through the door. "No, I checked my deck last night, everything's there. What card is it?"

"Shooting… Wait, its Shooting Quasar Dragon!" she exclaimed in awe. "But I thought…"

The door opened, to reveal Yusei in his usual attire, minus his jacket and shoes.

"That the card vanished after my duel with Z-one? Yeah, so did I." he plucked it out of her hands and studied it. "May as well add it back to my deck."

"You're so lucky you got a new card!" she pouted. "I've only got my same boring dragon I've had all my life!"

Yusei tried hard not to laugh at her face, which made her look like a five-year-old not getting what she wanted, as they descended the stairs.

"It's not a boring dragon!" Yusei argued. "I think it is a very… uhhh… Pretty dragon? Look, what do you want me to say?" he paled at her expression.

"Fine. If you're so upset about it, take this." Yusei rolled his eyes, passing her the card she had just discovered on his cabinet.

"What? I can't take this!" she cried, trying to pass it back.

"Yes, you can. It doesn't need any specific tuners, so it will fit in your deck." He smiled.

"But the Crimson Dragon gave it to you!"

"And I'm giving it to _you_."

She sighed, defeated. "Fine. I'll look after it for you. But if you want it back, just say."

"Oh my God! Guys!" Leo screamed, bounding down the stairs, nearly knocking Akiza over, if Yusei hadn't been there to support her. "Life Stream Dragon! I found it on my desk! But, I'm sure I left it in England!"

"Well, a new card appeared to me." Jack said, sipping his coffee. "Burning Magma Dragon. Ever heard of it, you guys?"

"Nope. Bet it's really lame." Akiza scowled at him.

"Fine, be that way. But, I don't see you getting any new card." Jack smirked at her, delighted to trap her.

"Actually, I do. Yusei gave me Shooting Quasar Dragon!" she cried. Jack spluttered on his coffee and dropped the cup, spilling the hot contents onto his white jeans.

"Yusei! She stole your card!" Jack screeched at his brother.

"No, she didn't. I gave it to her." Yusei said simply, sitting down on the sofa next to Lester, who was obviously trying to talk to him, but couldn't say anything because of Luna doing his hair.

"Yusei… I need to- ah! Luna! That hurts!- talk to you!" Lester squeaked, as Luna dragged a brush through his hair.

"When did you last brush this?" she demanded, tying it in a ponytail.

"Luna? Can you stop with the hairdressing for now?" Yusei asked, gently taking the brush from her. "It looks like Lester wants to talk to me."

"Yeah. Yes, I do. You guy are in danger. Serious danger." The half-machine told them.

"Oh, God. Martha knows we're home." Crow squeaked. Lester shot him a dirty look.

"It's no laughing matter. This is nothing like what you have faced before."

"Alright, you. Let's hear it. And while you talk, I'll redress your bandages." Akiza said, sitting down next to him with the first-aid kit.

* * *

**Present Day- A few hours later, New Domino City**

"…Then, I ran to you guys." Lester finished his story, wincing as Akiza cleaned out a big gash in his back.

Everyone was silent, brooding over the story that had just been told.

"That does not sound good…" Crow sighed.

"It's weird, though." Leo said. "If you think about it; it's the Dark Signers meets Team New World meets ancient history!"

"I'm guessing Max, or whatever his name is, used Paradox's duel runner to time jump, right?" Yusei asked the red-head.

"Yeah, I think so. He revived Aporia by jumping back and taking the body from the Arc Cradle before it collapsed. He took some others, but he didn't take Paradox's."

"Why?" Yusei asked. "He would have been a powerful asset to him."

"Just whose side are you on, Yusei?" Akiza asked darkly, winding bandages around Lester's chest.

"Sorry."

"You, Jaden and Yugi did him in good, apparently," Lester grinned. "You solved two problems, when you thought you had only solved one!"

"Hold up! Hold everything!" Crow cried, jumping up from the kitchen table, where he had been eating his breakfast of ramen and green tea.

"What is it, Birdbrain?" Akiza hissed.

"Who says we can trust this guy?" Crow demanded. "He might be a spy! Giving us fake information so we fall right into their trap!"

"He's not lying!" Luna cried, from the hallway. She walked in, to reveal that she was holding Lester's jacket in one hand and his deck in the other.

"How do you know?" Ashley asked, from the stove, where she had been quietly cooking bacon and eggs.

"The duel spirits never lie." Luna assured them. "Their story ties in with Lester's and they back him 100%"

"Well, then, it's settled. Lester, you are know unofficially a member of Team 5ds!" Yusei smiled at the boy.

"Thanks…" he whispered. "Thank you for accepting me… And, to show my gratitude, I have a gift for you."

* * *

**Present Day- New Domino City, Cafe la Green **

It had to be sheer coincidence that Lester had told him to meet him here. When he had received his call, a few hours before, he could hardly believe it. He was tempted to ask if he had heard him correctly.

But, course he had. He recognised the name so well. So many memories tied to the little café and the garage across the road.

Pulling all nighters, ramen, chatting, ramen, laughing, ramen, shouting, ramen, duelling, ramen and lots and lots of expensive coffee.

He gazed over at the brown wooden doors. Inside, was a small house that he was more familiar with than any other place in the world. It had been ages though.

"They won't be living there anymore…" he told himself. "They'll probably be in the Tops after all the prize money they won…"

They might even be dead. Lived long, happy lives and died good ages. He hadn't seen the date. However, the place hadn't changed much, so he doubted it.

His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Zora stomp out of her shop, her bag in hand.

"Hello, sir, can I get you anything?" a waitress called.

"Can I have a coffee, please?" he asked politely, sitting down at a table, with a perfect view of the garage next door.

It looked deserted. They had all moved on, probably not giving him a second thought-

Suddenly, the wooden doors burst opened, revealing silhouettes of many people, who began charging towards him, as fast as they could.

Dear God, it was them.

He could see Jack and Crow running at the back of the group smiling and, in Crow's case, waving. They hadn't changed a bit. Crow was grinning like a fool and even Jack looked happy to see him.

In front of them were Yusei and Akiza. They were both trying to tear across the cobbled square, but she was struggling in her heels. Yusei grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

Leo and Luna were the first to arrive at Café la Green. Both of them had grown since he had last seen them and their clothes had been altered slightly to adjust to their heights. Both of the twins were hugging his legs fiercely, sobbing.

Yusei hadn't changed a bit. That was all he could think as he grabbed his hand in a brief handshake. But, wow, Akiza had changed. He smiled and hugged her. Her hair was done with the same style and her eyes still sparkled. However, she wore a faded pair of jeans and a white shirt that read 'I'm with stupid' and had arrows pointing everywhere.

Then, two other people came up either side. One was a girl about Leo and Luna's age he had never seen before. The other was Lester, who he had seen the night before.

"We missed you…" Luna squeezed him tighter.

"I missed you guys too." He whispered. He grinned at Yusei. "Still need a second mechanic?"

"Well, no. We no longer compete in competitions anymore…" Yusei said, dead serious. It was as if he had shot him through the heart with a lead arrow.

"But what we _do_ need is our friend." He smiled.

"Well, that's a relief. You genuinely had me worried there, Yusei."

"It's great to see you, man," Crow gave him thumbs up.

"It's great to be back." Bruno wiped the tears from his eyes.


End file.
